MRORI 28 - The WAHID Institute

The
28
Edition
WAHID Institute
Monthly Report
March 2010
on Religious Issues
EDITOR’S WORD
S
ince the death of KH Abdurrahman Wahid, people have paid their
respects in many different ways. ­A
29 year old sculptor from Central Java,
Cipto Purnomo, created a Buddha ­s tatue
featuring Gus Dur’s head. One of Cipto’s
friends crafted a “Gus Dur Gladiator”
statue and a “Gus Dur Mountain” statue
within 40 days of the former president’s
death.
The Buddhist statue sparked protest from the Indonesian Theravada
Youth (PATRIA) Headquarters as it was
­considered degrading, and the statues,
on display at Mendut art gallery in
­Magelang, were taken down.
In addition, throughout February
there were more problems with the
establishment of houses of worship. ­ A
number of local organisations placed
pressure on the Church of Galilee in
­B ekasi to close its doors. In Bogor, the
local government gave in to pressure
from several groups, with the mayor
revoking the building permit granted
to the Yasmin Church in Curug Mekar.
Saddened by these incidences, two religious organisations, PGI (Indonesian
Protestant Church Fellowship) and KWI
(Indonesian Catholic Church Conference), complained to Parliament on Tuesday (9/02) and urged that the issue be
resolved.
As well as reporting on the judicial
review of PNPS 1965, this edition of
MRORI also features cases concerning
deviance, banning of the jilbab, alcohol
consumption and a waria (transvestite)
contest.
Enjoy Reading!
Gus Dur Buddhist Statue Display Closed
Tedi Kholiludin
Photograph: Statue of the Buddha featuring Gus Dur’s head
I
n silence and with resignation, ­Cipto
Purnomo (29) slowly arranged the
planks of wood. But he was not
­making a bonfire; instead Cipto was
sealing off the “Statue of Gus Dur’s Conscience” with the planks. On top of the
planks was a sign reading “statue closed
to ­public” and “what should we do with
this statue?”, “we will leave it to competent people”, “we apologise to those who
have been offended by our actions”, “for
our learning, as we are ­village people in
need of enlightenment (humans are far
more important than statues)”.
The closure of the display at Mendut art gallery in Magelang (14/02)
marked the end of the controversy
over the Buddhist statue that bore the
head of the fourth Indonesian president, KH ­ Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus
Dur). In ­ addition to Cipto’s statue, two
other statues were also taken off display,
namely Sujono’s Gus Dur Gladiator and
Ismanto’s Gus Dur Mountain. Both were
covered with white cloths, resembling
mummies.
The official removal of the statues
Photo.SCTV
from display, which coincided with the
40th day anniversary since Gus Dur’s
death, was accompanied by a ritual or
performance art. However, in this case
the ceremony was much quieter than
usual, with only a reading of mantras
and Javanese hymns.
Cipto said he closed the statue for
the common good, as quoted by Suara
Merdeka, (15/02). He is a sculptor who
lives near Borobudur, and in 2009 he
received the Indonesian World Record
Museum (MURI) award for making the
smallest Buddhist statue from gold. It
measured only 8x5x4mm.
Offence
The controversy over the Gus Dur
Buddha statue began with a protest
from the Indonesian Theravada Youth
(PATRIA) headquarters, who felt the
­statue resembled the Buddha. “We will
inform Mr Cipto Purnomo, the artist of
this piece of work, of our feelings. Maybe out of a lack of awareness, he has degraded the figure of our Great Teacher
and the World’s Great Teacher,” said
Publisher: The Wahid Institute | Directors: Yenny Zannuba Wahid, Ahmad Suaedy | Chief Editor: Rumadi | Executive Editor: Alamsyah M. Dja’far | Board of
Editors: Ahmad Suaedy, Gamal Ferdhi, Alamsyah M. Dja’far | Editorial Staff: M. Subhi Azhari, Nurun Nisa’, Badrus Samsul Fata | Translator: Rebecca Lunon
| Cover & Lay out: Ulum Zulvaton | Contributors: Noor Rahman (Jakarta), Dindin A. Ghazali, Suhendy (West Java), Nur Khalik Ridwan (Central Java and
Yogyakarta), Tedi Kholiludin (Central Java), Zainul Hamdi (East Java), Syamsul Rijal Adhan (Makassar), Yusuf Tantowi, Akhdiansyah (NTB) | Address: The Wahid
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wahidinstitute.org. Published by The Wahid Institute in cooperation with TIFA Foundation.
■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
the director of PATRIA headquarters,
­Tanagus Dharmawan (detik.com, 8/01).
“At the time I was
creating the statue I saw
it symbolically. It was not
my aim or intention to
offend any religion,”
Cipto Purnomo
Taking a different stance to PATRIA
headquarters, the Indonesian Buddhist
Representative (Walubi) had no concerns with the statue and urged that
the issue not be blown out of proportion.
“In terms of teachings there is no
problem, the only problem is it’s not
ethical. Maybe it’s just a lack of understanding. There’s no need to make it
into a big issue,” said the director of the
Central Java branch of Walubi, David
Hermanjaya, during Chinese New Year
celebrations at Liong Hok Bio temple,
Magelang, on Saturday (kompas.com,
13/2).
The sculptor, Cipto, apologised for
having offended the Buddhist commu-
nity with his work. However, he said, the
statue was not at all intended to offend.
The work was purely a symbol of the
great role Gus Dur played during his life,
a role that Buddha Guatama also played.
“At the time I was creating the statue I
saw it symbolically. It was not my aim or
intention to offend any religion,” Cipto
Purnomo emphasised to detik.com in
Blangkunan, Muntilan, Magelang, Central Java, on Monday (8/2).
For Cipto the world of statues is very
much a part of his own flesh and blood.
He told how he first began work on the
statue on invitation from the owner of
Mendhut art gallery, Sutanto, in order
to celebrate the 40 day anniversary of
Gus Dur’s passing. “One week before
the event was to be held in the Mendut art gallery, Mr Tanto contacted me
and asked me to sculpt a statue,” said
the primary school teacher. After much
brainstorming he chose the body of a
­Buddha. He explained that works of art
are created subjectively based on the
artist’s imagination and observations of
his environment. Cipto acknowledged
that he was close to and had been raised
near Borobodur, and as a result he had
much admiration for the Buddha.
Director of the API Islamic Boarding
School in Tegalrejo, Magelang, KH Muhammad Yusuf Chudlori, said that he
believed that Cipto had no intention
of insulting any religion. “There was no
intention to insult another religion because Gus Dur was pluralistic and also
never degraded other religions. The
work was intended as an expression of
art. However the artist must apologise
as it seems some have been offended
by his work. Those who have been offended must also be able to understand
this,” Gus Yusuf said (antaranews.com,
14/2).
In Ciganjur, Gus Dur’s son in law,
Dhohir Farisi, understood Cipto and
his associates’ love of Gus Dur as expressed in the statue as an expression
of art. However, Dhohir also felt that if
the Buddhist community was offended
by the statue, then the sculptor had to
respond to their feelings, “If there is any
debate amongst the Buddhist community, the artist must respond.” And what
did Yenny Wahid have to say on the issue? “Yenny also saw the statue. We just
laughed. It’s a statue of Gus Dur wearing
a white peci (rimless cap) and so on. It’s
an expression of art,” Dhohir said (detik.
com, 8/2).
M
Government Refuses to Annul the PNPS, PGI Demands
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
D
iffering from the stances and
declarations made by several
others, the Federation of Indonesian Churches (PGI) has asked
the ­ government to be critical of Law
Number 1 of 1965 on Prevention of
Religious Defamation and/or Abuse. In
particular, they singled out how much
authority the government has when it
comes to religious interpretation and
prosecution of differing interpretations.
“PGI feels that there should be a decision made on religious defamation.
What is the definition of defamation?
Does the government have the right to
prosecute or to interpret what is most
true, even though some small groups
have followed set doctrines for many
years, doctrines that have been formulated in religious council meetings,” said
Priest Einar Sitompul who represented
PGI in the plenary session at the Constitutional Court Building in Jakarta on
Thursday (4/02). If there was no clear
boundary concerning this issue, “we are
concerned that state intervention will
go too far,” he said.
He explained that within ­Christianity
there are many different denominations. And Christianity in the Middle
East is quite different to that found in
Indonesia. “However there is a joint
commitment, that while the teachings
may differ, the holy book must remain
the same,” he said. PGI also urged the
government to carefully consider these
cases, and establish an internal control
within religious bodies.
In the first session, the Minister of
Law and Human Rights Patrialis Akbar
argued that proceeding with the judicial review of the law would only result
in horizontal conflict. The PAN cadre
even emphasised that religious principles could not be bargained with. It
was highly possible, he continued, that
annulling the law would lead to people
taking the law into their own hands. “It
is fitting and reasonable that the applicants demanding such freedom be ignored and rejected,” he said.
He also argued that the PNPS had
helped create religious harmony within Indonesia because it regulated and
equalized all religions in the eyes of the
law, and also guaranteed adherents the
freedom to hold religious activities. Patrialis even insinuated that the applicants
had not comprehensively examined
the law. Although the law concerns human rights issues, this West Sumateran
born man did not examine the human
rights perspective in any depth. He only
The WAHID Institute
n Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
“PGI feels that there should
be a decision made on
religious defamation. What is
the definition of defamation?
Does the government have
the right to prosecute or to
interpret what is most true,
even though some small
groups have followed set
doctrines for many years,
doctrines that have been
formulated in religious
council meetings”.
Einar Sitompul
emphasised that Western concepts of
human rights were different to those in
the Indonesian context.
As with the Minister of Law and Human Rights, the Minister for Religious
Affairs Suryadharma Ali also urged the
court to reject the applicant’s case. He
reasoned that the applicants had no legal standing in the case. In addition, the
law signed by Sukarno was considered
to have already been tested and proven
to have helped maintain religious unity
and to lead the Indonesian nation towards a harmonious life.
In addition to these two ministers,
the court also heard H Chairuman Harahap, a representative of the Indonesian Parliament, Amidhan and his legal
representative Lutfi Hakim from the
Indonesian Council of Ulama, and Muhammadiyah Saleh Partaonan Daulay,
secretary of the Muslim Lawyer Association’s Legal Aid and Human Rights
Department.
After the hearing, there was a minor
incident when audience members were
leaving the second floor balcony. Several of those supporting the ­ existence
of the law approached Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, member of the Liberal Islamic
Network (JIL). A man wearing a white
peci in the middle balcony called out
“Lil, lil. I want to shake your hand,” while
walking towards him. After ­shaking his
hand, the man pointed his index finger
at Ulil’s face and shouted that Ulil would
destroy Islam. Another man started
shouting too, “You’ve just graduated
from Israel, yeah?” The incident did not
last long, with police and court officials
quick to act. They stopped Ulil from
leaving until all those opposing the judicial review had left.
Throughout the duration of the
hearing, which began at 10.00, outside
the court and under tight police guard
Islamic organisations such as the Islamic
Defenders Front (FPI), the Islamic Reformation Movement (Garis) and the Muslim Forum (FUI) held demonstrations.
One man, wearing black robes and a
head cloth and who appeared to be an
orator for the group, said that if the Constitutional Court allowed the case to
proceed (ruling in Ulil’s favour), it meant
that they had no choice but to oppose
the case in any way possible, including
resorting to murder.
In a press release signed by Secretary General Muhammad Al ­Khaththath,
FUI made three demands to the Constitutional Court. FUI demanded that the
court reject the demands of those liberal
NGOs, that Islamic organisations, ­ulama,
and Muslim leaders increase Muslim
unity in order to protect Muslims from
liberals, and that the government use
its authority to ban the existence of
­liberal Islam and those that spread deviant teachings.
The hearing that day was the ­second
overall, with the agenda to hear information from the government, parliament and other relevant parties. It was
chaired by Moh Mahfud MD and seven
members. The first hearing was held on
17 November 2009.
In this initial hearing, the Advocacy
Team for Religious Freedom (TAKB),
­acting as the legal attorney for a number
of NGOs and human rights activists,
submitted a 62-page draft appeal. They
argued that the PNPS contradicted the
“Rule of Law” as stated in article 1 verse
3 of the 1945 constitution.
In addition the law was also produced during a declared state of
emergency and as such should only
have been valid temporarily. TAKB also
stressed that the law contradicted article 28E verse 1 and 2, article 28I verse 1,
and article 29 verse 2 of the constitution
concerning rights to religion, belief, and
expression of thought and opinion in
accordance with one’s conscience. With
reference to a number of international
regulations, these rights are protected
for instance by article 18 of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR)
and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which
Indonesia ratified in Law No 12/2005.
Choirul Anam, a member of TAKB, urged
that the PNPS be annulled, and that the
issue of religious freedom be regulated
purely by article 28E and article 29 verse
2 of the constitution.
Those NGO pushing for the judicial
review include Imparsial (The Initiative
Association of a Participative Society
for Just Transition), Elsam (The Institute
for Community Studies and Advocacy),
PBHI (The Association of Human Rights
and Legal Aid Organisations), Demos
(The Association of Human Rights and
Democracy Study Centres), Perkumpulan Masyarakat Setara (The Association
for an Equal Society), Desantara, and
YLBHI (The Foundation for Indonesian
Legal Aid Institutes). Meanwhile, individuals involved include former President KH Abdurrahman Wahid, Prof Dr
Musdah Mulia, Prof M Dawan Rahardjo,
and KH Maman Imanul Haq.
M
KWI and PGI Urge Government to Guarantee Religious
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
T
he Indonesian Catholic Church
Conference (KWI) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia
The WAHID Institute
(PGI) have urged the government to be
serious in protecting the religious rights
of its citizens. Since the beginning of
2010, in cases involving the closure of
houses of worship and religiously based
violence the government has clearly
■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
“There are people in
power and because they
are the majority they
make this joint regulation
powerless.”
Pudjasumarta
failed to protect and guarantee the
rights of citizens to worship the religion
of their choice.
The issue was raised in a meeting
between representatives from KWI
and PGI and Commission III of the Indonesian parliament on Tuesday (9/2).
KWI was represented by its Secretary
­General Mgr Pujasumarta Pr who is also
the Bandung Bishop, while PGI was
­represented by its General Secretary
Priest Gomar Gultom, MTh.
In the meeting, PGI also reported 10
cases of violence against its ­ churches,
and KWI reported four since the
­beginning of the year.
One of the issues, according to these
religious organisations, is related to the
implementation of the Joint Regulation
of the Two Ministers in 2006 concerning
the Guide for Implementing Duties for
Regional Heads in Preserving Religious
Harmony and Establishing Houses of
Worship. “There are people in power
and because they are the majority they
make this joint regulation powerless,”
said Pudjasumarta (kompas.com, 9/2).
He then told of how decisions made by
regents or mayors were often revoked if
they sparked signdlinkdlinkadfdafafafaificant protest by certain groups. He was
hopeful, however, that the regulation
could be the solution that satisfied all
religious communities.
Hundreds of congregants of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Church
in Filadelfia, Bekasi, most of whom were
women and children, also attended the
meeting. They did so to report the sealing of their church by the Bekasi regent,
Saaduddin.
They told how the church congregation had been prevented from
worshipping as they pleased. In 2008,
the church was attacked by unknown
­assailants during Christmas celebrations. They were also attacked on 25
December 2009 during celebrations, to
the extent that they were forced to hold
the morning service on the main road
because the Bekasi regent sealed their
church.
Elsewhere, the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) has
complained about the still significant
numbers of cases of religious intolerance occurring in Indonesia. It pointed
out the government’s slow handling of
cases to Vice President Boediono. “We
put to you, Mr Vice President, that there
are still a lot of cases of religiously based
violence,” said ICRP Secretary General,
Romo Johannes Harjanto, in a press
conference after meeting with the Vice
President in his office on Medan Merdeka Selatan Rd, Jakarta (detik.com, 9/2).
Johannes explained that in January
of 2010 alone there were 20 separate
cases of religiously based violence. In
addition to certain groups, the government was also guilty of neglecting religious rights through its own violations
and its enforcement of regulations that
violated such rights.
Thus the ICRP urged the government to be firm in resolving the issue,
which involved prosecuting perpetrators of violence. M
Islamic Organisations Seal Church
Noor Rahman
H
undreds of Muslims from various
Islamic social organisations in
Bekasi, West Java have demanded that Christian activities at the Galilee
Church in the Galaxi Park housing complex in Jaka Setia, Bekasi be brought to
a halt, by force if necessary (15/2). The
church’s existence has upset locals, the
majority of whom are Muslim, as it is
believed to have not yet completely
obtained a building permit.
The Islamic organisations involved
included the Bekasi Propagation Council (DDB), the Bungin Propagation
Council, the Muara Gembong Society,
“If there is a problem, let
us fix it as a family. The
police and government
are always open to
perfecting the views that
we all share.”
the Bina An-Nisa Division of the Bekasi
Propagation Council, the Irene Centre,
the Indonesian Council of Mujahedeen
(MMI), the Social Forum of the Galaxi
Mosque, FPI, the Medan Satria Islamic
Youth Forum, FKUB, the Islamic Union
(PERSIS), the Committee for Enforcement of Syariah (KPS), Muhammadiyah,
the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), the
Community Concerned about Syariah
(MPS), and the Islamic Youth Association (GARIS).
A prominent member of Bekasi
FPI, Murhali Barda, explained that the
community’s unrest over the church
was ­ because of the suspicion that the
church was converting Muslims to Christianity, a process referred to as Christianisation. “Reports from several of our
congregants say that the church often
distributes cheap food packages to the
needy provided that they acknowledge
Jesus as their God. I see this as a violation,” Murhali said (antara.co.id, 15/2). In
addition, he said, locals were disturbed
by the ritual singing of praises at night
when they were trying to rest.
According to Murhali, there were
already at least six churches in the area
and a number of houses that were used
as places of worship. He was adamant
that the construction permits being
protested over were not indeed complete because the majority of the community had not given their permission
for the land to be used. “The proof is
that up to today there are still many
banners of protest erected in alleys and
lanes and in busy places,” Murhali emphasised (inilah.com, 15/2).
In response, the Bekasi Propagation
Council (DDB) and several other Islamic
organisations issued a declaration, protesting the establishment of the Galilee
Church and urging the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB) and the local
government to bring a halt to all of the
church’s religious activities as regulated
The WAHID Institute
n Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
“Reports from several
of our congregants say
that the church often
distributes cheap food
packages to the needy
provided that they
acknowledge Jesus as
their God. I see this as a
violation,”
Murhali
in the Two Ministers’ Joint Declaration
of 2006 on Establishment of Houses of
Worship. “The Joint ­ Declaration by the
Minister of Religious Affairs and the
Minister for Internal Affairs states that
establishment of a house of worship
must have the agreement of at least
60% of the local community,” Marhali
said (republika.co.id, 15/2). The Joint
Regulations No 8 and No 9/2006 that
replaced the Joint Declaration also
state that to obtain a building permit
for houses of worship it is necessary to
have the agreement of 60% of the local
community.
The Chief of the Criminal Investigative Unit of Bekasi Police, Police Commissioner Budi Sartono, urged demonstrators to maintain order while demonstrating and to not resort to anarchy.
Violence would not be tolerated. “If
there is a problem, let us fix it as a family.
The police and government are always
open to perfecting the views that we all
share,” he said (inilah.com, 15/02).
M
Bogor Government Revokes Church Permit after
Noor Rohman
A
fter a demonstration by hundreds
of locals, the Bogor government
eventually revoked the building
permit previously issued to the Yasmin
Church in Curug Mekar, West Bogor on
Thursday (11/2). The church had fulfilled
the requirements for the permit in 2006,
yet the permit was suspected to be legally flawed and the existence of the
church felt to be disturbing locals.
“When unrest
arises, the church
permit is automatically
annulled in accordance
with the Mayor’s
Recommendation”
Bambang Gunawan
The cancellation of the permit was
based on Recommendation of the Mayor of Bogor No 601-389, dated 15 February 2006. Point 12 of the recommendation stated that if the church construction was not in accordance with correct
data and had the potential to disturb
the community, then the permit would
automatically be revoked. “When unrest
arises, the church permit is automatically annulled in accordance with the
Mayor’s Recommendation” explained
Bambang Gunawan, Regional Secretary
of Bogor (koran.republika.co.id, 12/2).
According to Bambang, in 2009
the church permit was frozen by the
Bogor government but later released
after Bogor GKI took the case to the
­Bandung Administrative Court. The
Court ruled in favour of Bogor GKI
The WAHID Institute
but because the Bogor government
had the Mayor’s Recommendation on
which to base their claim, for the interests of the community the church
permit was revoked. In regards to the
Court’s ruling, Bambang said that the
Bogor Government was currently preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We will continue to pursue and resolve
the issue through the legal system,”
he said (koran.republika.co.id, 12/02).
Right from the beginning, the director of the Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum in Bogor and community
leader H Ahmad Iman has been optimistic and certain that the mayor would loyally fulfil the community’s desires. “I believe that the mayor will revoke the permit. The church construction is legally
flawed because the form of agreement
containing the signatures of local community members is false. The local community has never said that it is prepared
to welcome the construction of the
church,” Imam said (kompas.com, 11/02).
The hundreds of protesters spontaneously bowed down, giving thanks
to God, when hearing of the decision as they felt that their struggle
for the truth had been answered.
In this case, the community felt
that the Bogor government had made
a mistake in granting the church a
­building permit without checking the
accuracy of the data with locals. The
locals claimed that their protest was
not out of hatred towards a certain religion, but was because the construction process was flawed. These kinds of
cases represent the negative effects of
“We will demand an
explanation from the
Mayor in regards to the
cancellation because the
court already ruled in our
favour”
Thomas Wadudara
the discriminative regulation concerning establishment of houses of worship.
In response to the annulment of the
permit, the Indonesian Christian Church
(GKI) will seek clarification from the Bogor
Mayor. “We will demand an explanation
from the Mayor in regards to the cancellation because the court already ruled in
our favour,”said Thomas Wadudara, direct
of the Yasmin GKI construction project,
on Tuesday (antaranews.com, 2/03).
According to Thomas, the Bandung
Court’s ruling was legally binding and
unconditional and as such had to be
­respected by all parties. Furthermore,
the court also examined the form declaring the local community’s agreement, which has recently been suspected of falsification. Thomas suspects that
there is pressure from certain groups
with political interests to stopp the
church construction from proceeding.
On Monday (1/3), hundreds of
Hizbut Thahrir Indonesia (HTI) members from Bogor approached the
Bogor town hall to protest against
the
GKI
church
construction.
■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
FPI Opposes “Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan”
Noor Rohman
T
he planned launch of the film
“Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan (The
Menstruation Ghost)” in a number
of cinemas in Indonesia on Thursday
(4/2) did not go ahead after the Islamic
Defenders Front (FPI) successfully opposed the film. In an sms, FPI instructed
all members to hold raids should the
launch proceed.
“We’ve withdrawn all
forms of publication.
We’ve already decided
that they film’s screening
will be postponed in
Indonesian cinemas until
some later date.”
Yan Wijaya
In addition, hundreds of FPI members led by Salim bin Umar Al Athos,
Fachry Jamalullail and Ahmad Al-Aidi
also demonstrated against the Film
Censorship Institute (LSF) which had
given the film the go ahead. They urged
the LSF to withdraw their decision and
to warn cinemas to not screen the controversial film. If necessary FPI was willing to approach each cinema individually to make sure their instructions were
understood.
The FPI crowd was met by LSF
member Anwar Fuadi. During their discussion, FPI argued that the film could
spread immorality and cause unrest
within the Muslim community. The film,
which stars Andi Soraya and Trio Macan,
is considered low in moral values and
too vulgar, with frequent nudity. Andi
Soraya has even been equated to Miyabi, Maria Ozawa, the Japanese pornstar. “Andi Soraya is the Indonesian Miyabi, she spreads a terrifying immorality
bomb,” explained the director of Jakarta
FPI headquarters, Habib Salim bin Umar
Al Athos (kompas.com, 4/2).
In response, Anwar explained that
the film passed censorship and that
­anything that was slightly ­pornographic
or vulgar had been removed. If there
were any vulgar pictures still in circulation, it was purely the producer’s strategy to promote the film. “We explained
why the film passed censorship. We
removed anything pornographic or
vulgar. If they come across anything
pornographic or vulgar now it is the
producer’s mistake, as they are still using those pictures to promote their film,”
Anwar stressed (inilah.com, 4/2).
K2K Production, the company who
produced the film, eventually withdrew
the film and removed all advertising.
They also postponed the screening
to a later date in order to avoid any
­unwanted risks. “We’ve withdrawn all
forms of publication. We’ve already decided that the film’s screening will be
postponed in Indonesian cinemas until
some later date,” explained the spokesperson for K2K Production, Yan Wijaya
(kompas.com, 4/2).
Recently the film’s title was changed
to “Dendam Pocong Mupeng (Revenge
of the Broken Faced Ghost)” and will
screen in all cinemas in Indonesia. The
film with this title recently passed LSF
censorship, which, according to LSF
member Al Surya Patih, cut out 28 inappropriate scenes. The film was also
shortened from 90 minutes to just 64
(inilah.com, 12/3).
MUI has expressed its disappointment over the film passing censorship,
as it feels that only the title was changed
while the contents remained the same.
MUI even urged the government to revoke authorisation for its release. “The
film destroys the morality of our nation. As role models we try so hard to
teach morality, so how can this happen?
This is what has led to free sex becoming part of the morality of our nation.
This has even been legalised. There’s
the LSF with its duties, and the government is busy educating us about good
­character, but then there’s this other
side,” Amirsyah, MUI secretary general,
said on Friday (12/3).
M
3 Years for 3 West Java NII Leaders
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
T
he Garut State Court has sentenced three leaders of the Islamic
State of Indonesia (NII) from South
Garut, West Java, to three years impris-
They were guilty of
defamation for changing
the direction to Mecca,
and praying to the East
with their backs to the
Ka’bah.
onment in a hearing on Wednesday
(10/2). The three were Wowo Wahyudin
(33), Wawan Setiawan (43), and Abdul
Rosid (44).
According the head of the judges’
council, Rudi Suharso, all three were
proven guilty of publically committing
crimes and violating article 156a of the
Criminal Code concerning religious defamation.
They were guilty of defamation for
changing the direction to Mecca, and
praying to the East with their backs to
the Ka’bah. The group also replaced Mu-
hammad’s name with the name of their
leader, Sensen Komara, in the confession of faith and in one sentence of the
call to prayer.
The accused, who refused to be represented by a legal attorney, accepted
the court’s ruling. The final verdict was
one year less than the prosecution’s demands for four years imprisonment.
As quoted by tempointeraktif.com
(10/2), the accuseds’ actions became
known to locals during the Friday afternoon sermon in Situ Bodol, Tegal Gede,
Pakenjeng, on 4 September 2009. One
The WAHID Institute
n Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
of the congregants recorded the incident and reported it to the local MUI.
On September 29, Garut police detained 16 NII members during a fight at
a meeting at the Tegal Gede village office in Pakenjeng. Police then declared
five as suspects, for motivating the
group. They included the Garut ­Leader/
Commander, Sensen Komaran (45), Abdul Rosid (44), Wowo Wahyudin (33),
Wawan Setiawan (43), and Daud (63).
M
Several Bandung Social Organisations Reject Alcohol
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
D
iscussion over the Draft Regulation concerning Monitoring and
Control of Alcoholic Beverages
and Liquor Store Permits currently being discussed by the local parliament
has been opposed by a number of social organisations in Bandung.
“We cannot have a
regulation that bans
alcohol as it contradicts
higher regulations.”
At the beginning of February,
r­ epresentatives from the Islamic Youth
Movement (GPI) and the Student
­Association for an Islamic Union (Hima
Persis) ­ approached Commission D of
the Bandung parliament. They were adamant, urging the government to stop
discussions over the legalisation of alcoholic beverages in Bandung. “If it is to be
discussed, it has to be about banning,
not control,” said Muhdan Firdaus Alam,
the Hima Persis spokesperson, (Pikiran
Rakyat, 7/2).
He feels that the law would allow
producers to establish a widespread
market for the sale of alcohol. ­Legalising
it would only empower certain ­ actors
such as hotels and entertainment
­venues. Hima Persis also urged the
­government to research other sources
of income besides tax from alcohol sales
which is clearly forbidden in Islam.
Secretary of Commission D of the
Bandung parliament, Yosep Saepul Akbar, who met with representatives of
these organisations, said that their opposition was considered as part of the
input required throughout the process
of drafting the regulation and he promised that all parties would be involved
in discussing the issue.
As with GPI and Hima Persis, the
Bandung Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI)
Office also opposed the draft regulation.
“I know that the tax will contribute to
local government income but it doesn’t
have to be tax from banned goods,” said
the director of the HTI review team for
the regional liquor regulation, M D Riyan (klik-galamedia, 10/2).
Lia Noer Hambali felt likewise. This
director the Bandung United Development Party (PPP) firmly emphasised in
a local parliament plenary session that
PPP would oppose the sale of alcohol
in Bandung.
The Bandung government begged
to differ. The Director of the Bandung
Department of Industry, Nana Supriyatna, said that the government could
not ban the distribution of alcohol because it would violate the Declaration
by the Minister for Trade. “We cannot
have a regulation that bans alcohol as it
contradicts higher regulations,” she said
(Tempo Interaktif, 15/2). Currently there
is no regulation controlling the distribu-
tion of alcohol in Bandung and as a result the government proposes the draft
regulation concerning the monitoring
and control of alcohol.
Before the draft reached the local
parliament, Nana said the government
had already discussed it with the Bandung Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI)
and other Islamic organisations such as
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah
and Persis over the course of several
meetings.
In 2006 the Bandung government
suggested that discussions be held
over the draft but the suggestion was
knocked back. In 2009, the suggestion
was proposed once again to the local
parliament in the Bandung government’s Work Paper No 19/2009.
In addition to regulating tax, the
draft also limits the number and kinds
of places where alcohol can be distributed and sold. The policy would allow
supermarkets and general stores to sell
drinks with less than 5% alcohol. Drinks
with 5-55% alcohol content would only
be able to be sold in hotels, restraints,
bars, pubs, night clubs, discotheque
and airports.
Buyers have to be over 21 and able
to produce their national identity card.
The regulation would not just apply to
foreign tourists, but for Bandung locals
too. The government, Nana said, would
revoke the licenses of those places
which violated the regulation.
Hospital Employees Banned from Wearing the Jilbab
Tedi Kholiludin
W
ith tears running down her
cheeks Fitri Cahyaningsih (33),
who works in nutrition at Telogorejo Hospital, spoke of her fate to
a number of fractions of the East Java
The WAHID Institute
local parliament on Monday (15/2). As
quoted by Suara Merdeka (16/2), Fitri
told of the discrimination she had faced
when the Hospital management chose
to ban women from wearing the jilbab
while working.
When welcomed by the PKS fraction, Fitri, who had worked at the hospital for 13 years, admitted she had not
only been discriminated against, but
■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
also intimidated after she chose to wear
the jilbab to work on January 12. After
donning the jilbab, she was moved to
the back kitchen. In fact, since January
25 she had had been given no work. Her
boss simply ordered her to sit on the terrace for the entirety of her shift.
“I submitted an official
application to the
hospital management
so that I could wear the
jilbab, but they didn’t
agree, even though
wearing the jilbab
doesn’t interfere with my
work.”
Fitri Cahyaningsih
Hospital management had asked
her to remove her jilbab if she wanted
to keep working at the hospital. “I submitted an official application to the hospital management so that I could wear
the jilbab, but they didn’t agree, even
though wearing the jilbab doesn’t interfere with my work,” she said.
The mother of two sought moral
support from the Democrats fraction,
the PPP fraction, and the PAN fraction.
She said that quite a significant number
of employees at Telogorejo Hospital
wore the jilbab but because they were
scared they chose to remove it for the
duration of their shift.
Fitri was sure that in accordance with
Indonesian law there was nothing banning her from wearing the jilbab while
working, especially as it did not interfere
with her work. She said that she was
even promoted by the housekeeping
department to work in the main kitchen
(17/02).
Head of the PKS fraction, Arif Awaludin expressed his willingness to follow
through with the issue. He promised
Fitri he would present the issue to Commission E which is concerned with those
kinds of issues. “I am concerned with
this issue. Our country is independent,
but it seems there are still some who
ban women from wearing the jilbab,” he
said.
Masrukhan Syamsurie, a member of
Commission E of the Central Java parliament, also expressed his support. He
argued that so long the jilbab did not
interfere with work, the hospital could
not ban women from wearing it. “We
deeply regret that there are still these
kinds of restrictions preventing Muslim
women from expressing their identity in
Indonesia. If necessary the council will
summon the hospital directors,” he said.
Istajib, PPP politician and member of
Commission B, urged Telogorejo Hospital to be tolerant of Muslim employees
who wished to wear the jilbab. He was
concerned that the hospital’s banning
of the jilbab could become a big problem for the Muslim community. “Muslim
women wear the jilbab because it’s a
religious command. If anyone bans this
then they are violating norms,” he said.
Meanwhile, head of public relations
of Telogorejo Hospital, Nana Noviada,
confirmed that the hospital had placed
standard clothing regulations in effect.
Appearance was regulated from head
to toe.
She said for example that long hair
must be neat, short hair must be no
shorter than shoulder length, no beards
were allowed, and no head covering of
any sort was permitted.
“These regulations were put in place
with the intention to provide a neutral
appearance and service, one that does
not promote any one religion, because
Telogorejo is a public hospital,” she said.
She argued that the hospital was not
based on any particular religion but was
run by a foundation.
M
Still Monitored After Repenting
Nurun Nisa’
S
amawiyah claims to be a ­prophet.
The revelation caused a stir
amongst residents of AngonA­ngon village in Arjasa, Kangean, Madura, East Java, because this thirty year old
women teaches some rather unusual
teachings. As quoted at detiksurabaya.
com, Samawiyah believes that making
the haj does not necessarily mean going to the Ka’bah in Mecca as she ­argues
that the Ka’bah is within each one of us.
She also claims to have moved as many
as five souls from hell to heaven. Her
­followers are required to fast their entire
lives. After one year of preaching, she
now has between 18 and 25 followers,
most of whom are close relatives. She
changed her name to Siti Hajar after receiving divine inspiration.
“Locals reported her to
me. She was monitored
and now it’s being
followed up at the district
level.” Moh Ridha
It was based on these reasons that
locals reported Samawiyah to the ­local
village chief. “Locals reported her to
me. She was monitored and now it’s
being followed up at the district level,”
said the Chief of Angon-Angon village,
Moh Ridha (detiksurabaya.com, 22/2).
The complaint was followed up with a
meeting between district level govern-
ment officials, MUI and Samawiyah and
her followers.
During the meeting a decision
was made, pronouncing Samawiyah’s
sect deviant. “The conclusion from the
meeting between district level government officials and MUI was that the
party involved was determined to be
spreading a deviant sect,” said Chief of
Arjasa Police, First Inspector Turmudzi.
During the meeting Samawiyah admitted her mistake and repented, as did
her followers. Inspector Turmudzi said
that she was returned to her family and
would receive guidance from a religious
leader.
Nevertheless, Samawiyah and her
followers are still being monitored to
ensure that their teachings are not
The WAHID Institute
n Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
­ eing spread further. Observation is
b
a joint effort by police officials, district
government officials and the religious
leaders who are providing guidance
to Samawiyah and her 25 followers.
“We can’t let clearly deviant activities
continue to occur,” said the Chief of the
Sumenep Police Intelligence Unit, Chief
Police Commissioner Endri Prasetyo
Utoro (23/2).
The meeting with district level go­
vernment officials was not thorough
however. According to Chief Police
Commissioner Endri, during the meet-
ing Samawiyah fainted in the middle
of answering questions from MUI and
thus the meeting could not continue.
Instead, the sect was declared deviant
and it is still uncertain when or if the
incomplete meeting will be continued.
M
Yusuf Group Attacked by Thousands
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
A
thousand or so locals from Mumbulsari village in Mumbulsari,
Jember, East Java approached
followers of the Yusuf Naqsabandiyah
tarekat (mystic/Sufi order) as they were
worshiping at the Raudlatul Muttaqin
Mosque on Thursday (25/2).
Yusuf denied that his
teachings were deviant,
arguing that they were
intended to interpret
the Qur’an not in its
literal meaning but in its
metaphorical sense, to gain
a deeper understanding of
the Qur’an.
According to observations by the
media, amongst those who approached
the group there were some who carried
stones or wooden planks and stood on
guard around the mosque. Some even
burnt eight vehicles owned by members of the group (Media Indonesia,
25/2).
Jauhari, one of the locals who join­
ed it said he was very irate with the
­teachings of Mr Sofi, better known as
Yusuf. His teachings were felt to contradict Islamic teachings because his
­followers were taught that they need
not pray, fast or read the Qur’an. “The
teachings are misleading and have upset the Muslim community in Mumbulsari,” he said.
He continued that locals had warned
the followers of the group to stop attending sermons led by Yusuf because
they did not want a deviant group to
develop in the village. “The limits of our
patience have been stretched, and so
we have come together to besiege the
group and ask them to leave Mumbulsari,” he said.
Several community leaders, high district officials, and police and military officers who were present at the mosque
tried to pacify the masses. “I urged the
locals to remain peaceful and not take
the law into their own hands. All members will repent and will pledge not to
follow their teachings anymore,” said
the Chief of the Jember Police Community Order Unit, Police Commissioner
Mahrobi Hasan (Media Indonesia, 25/2).
According to www.surya.co.id, the
siege occurred not when the group was
attending a sermon but when they were
meeting with district level government
officials and Jember MUI in the mosque
(surya.co.id, 25/2).
For safety reasons, the 18 members
of the group inside the mosque were
eventually evacuated to the Jember
police station. On Friday (26/2) they
were still being detained at the station,
where they sat and slept in front of the
Criminal Investigation Unit office. Not
one wanted to comment to journalists,
choosing instead to be quiet and evasive. Chief of the Criminal Investigation
Unit of Jember Police, Second Inspector
M Dhonie Adi also had very few words.
“We’re still investigating,” he said (surya.
co.id, 27/2).
According to the latest information,
Yusuf began giving sermons in mid
2006. Every Tuesday night he would
hold sermons in the houses of his 31 followers. Director of Mumbulsari MUI, KH
Shidiq Munawirudin, said that his teachings were deviant because they denied
the pillars of Islam, and thus his group
should be disbanded. However Yusuf
denied that his teachings were deviant, arguing that they were intended
to interpret the Qur’an not in its literal
meaning but in its metaphorical sense,
to gain a deeper understanding of the
Qur’an. M
Ahmadiyah Refugees in Lombok Donate Blood
Yusuf Tantowi
D
espite all the restrictions and
shortcomings that come with
living in exile, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Ahmadiyah members have
not lost their humanity. Last Friday
The WAHID Institute
(19/2), dozens chose to donate blood to
Indonesian Red Cross in Mataram after
Friday prayers. They did so in the yard
of their transitory refugee accommodation in Majeluk, Mataram.
“We routinely run a donor program
every three or four months,” said Jauzi,
director of NTB Ahmadiyah. From the
last donation, Mataram PMI obtained
about 50 bags of blood. “Under nor-
■ Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
“Their blood is taken, but
their faith is rejected”
Jumarim
mal conditions PMI usually gets 60 to
70 bags,” he added. The program is run
purely for humanity and because of the
high need for blood in NTB.
If Ahmadiyah members donate
blood every three to four months, then
in three years they donate blood at least
nine times. If every time they donate
blood at least 50 bags are collected, this
equates to a minimum of 450 lots of
350cc bags over three years.
“Their blood is taken, but their faith
is rejected,” said Jumarim, an activist in
Mataram.
This is indeed quite extraordinary
given the rather concerning conditions
they live under as refugees. Even more
so now that they no longer receive attention from the government, and all
aid stopped long ago. Electricity to the
transit accommodation was also cut
off.
Currently there are still as many as
29 families, a total of 133 individuals,
in ­ exile. To survive, they sell goods or
­services in the market such as offering
to carry things, working as labourers,
being ojek drivers, or selling fried snacks.
Others do any odd jobs that they can
get their hands on.
The Issue of Asylum
Only a short while ago the issue of
political asylum for Ahmadiyah members featured once again in the media.
The issue was first addressed by NTB
TVRI in an interactive program. Several
parties questioned whether the issue
was really raised by Ahmadiyah members.
“The issue did indeed originate
from one member of the community
currently in exile but it was not representative of the organisation,” said Jauzi,
denying the reports by the government
owned public broadcasting institute.
The declaration, he continued, was also
edited by the journalist. “We just want a
cooling down period first,” he said.
They were afraid that such reporting
Only a short while ago the
issue of political asylum
for Ahmadiyah members
featured once again in the
media. The issue was first
addressed by NTB TVRI in
an interactive program.
and declarations would receive negative responses from parties with political interests, especially as the political
climate in Mataram is heating up as the
elections for mayor and vice mayor approach. Candidates are currently competing for the support of parties. Some
have already secured support, others
have yet to do so.
As a result, the regional advisor to
Ahmadiyah, Ust H Saiful Uyun, has approached NTB TVRI to seek clarification
over their report. In the meeting NTB
TRVI said they ran the story so that the
government would pay attention to
Ahmadiyah.
M
Controversial Waria Contest in Aceh
Badrus Samsul Fata
A
fter sparking controversy a
year ago in Pagaralam, South
­Sumatera, a waria (transvestite)
contest is once again causing a stir.
This time in Aceh, which has adopted
special shariah laws. The waria contest
to elect the 2010 Aceh Socio-Cultural
Ambassador on Saturday night (13/2)
was hea­­vily protested by a number of
groups.
“It depends on how the
committee wants to be.
Basically they need to
apologise to MPU, because
they claimed to have
obtained authorisation
from MPU. In actual fact,
not only did they not obtain
authorisation, they didn’t
even meet with us.”
Karim Syeikh
10
A Karim Syeikh, chairman of the Deliberation Council of Ulama (MPU), even
accused the contest’s ­committee of lying after they claimed to have obtained
authorisation from the Banda Aceh
MPU. “We didn’t know what the event
was about,” he said (sumeks.com, 15/2).
Karim even threatened to pursue
the matter legally if it could not be resolved in a friendly manner. “It depends
on how the committee want to be. Basically they need to apologise to MPU,
because they claimed to have obtained
authorisation from MPU. In actual fact,
not only did they not obtain authorisation, they didn’t even meet with us,” he
emphasised (republika.com, 15/2).
Previously, the event coordinator
and head of the contest’s committee,
Jimmy, told local media that they had
received permission from Banda Aceh
MPU to hold the event which would feature 40 waria (harian-aceh.com, 15/02).
The Secretary General of Acehnese
Ulama (HUDA), Faisal Ali, was also criti-
cal. For Faisal, the contest was an insult
to the implementation of shariah law
in Aceh. In Islam, he explained, it was
forbidden for men to dress as women
and vice versa. Faisal also stressed that
waria were different from khuntsa (hermaphrodites) in Islamic legal terminology. Waria, he explained, were a human
creation where males try to resemble
females, while khuntsa were a natural
creation of God. “So being a waria is an
act that violates God’s will,” he said. Thus,
he concludes, the act clearly contradicts
Islamic law which is already in effect in
Aceh (theglobejournal.com, 17/02).
This opinion was reinforced by
member of the Aceh parliament, Darmuda. He argued that no matter the
context, the existence of waria clearly
contradicted the culture of the majority
of Acehnese residents who are Muslim.
The event was an oddity, because not
once in the history of Aceh had waria
activities been legal, especially now that
Aceh is known as a shariah state (the-
The WAHID Institute
n Monthly Report on Religious Issues, Edition XXVIII, March 2010
globejournal.com, 16/2).
Director of the Aceh branch of the
Communication Body for Youth and
Teenagers of Indonesian Mosques (BKPRMI), Nasaruddin, even urged police
to investigate the waria contest. “It can’t
be allowed to happen, and there can’t
have been anyone who would allow
an event that contradicts Islamic law to
take place in Aceh,” he said (antaranews.
com, 16/02).
Opposition was also voiced by
members of the community. Aidil, for
instance, a student of Unsyiah, felt that
if such a contest was allowed to go
ahead it could have a negative impact
on the younger generation in the future and may affect their mental state
(antaranews.com 17/2). Similar worries
were voiced by Nurhayati, a housewife
in Banda Aceh, who felt that if the contest was to select the best male and
female to be promoted to the national
level, or to model Muslim clothing,
maybe it would be ok to hold in Aceh,
but not for a waria contest.
As reported by the media, the contest held in the Indonesian Radio studio
in Banda Aceh involved 40 waria from
True Acehnese Men (PSA). They originated from a number of regions in the
province. Before the contest they were
given special sessions on human rights.
They were also sent out to local orphanages as volunteers to spread social sensitivity in Aceh (theglobejournal.com,
14/02).
On the night, the waria appeared
in traditional Aceh clothing. Eventually
Zifana Lestisia from Lhokseumawe was
chosen as the winner and will now on
to represent Aceh at the national level.
She said she would try to introduce
Acehnese culture to the nation and
prove that waria from areas that implement Islamic law can still compete nationally (harian-aceh.com 14/2).
Jimmy said that one of the aims of
the contest was to increase the friendship between waria at the same time
as decrease the negative stigma society
has towards waria. “In the contest it’s not
only beauty that’s judged, but also social awareness and mastery of science,”
he said (theglobejournal.com, 14/2).
M
Puang Malea Group Arrested
Alamsyah M. Dja’far
D
emanding the arrest of apparently deviant Puang Malea
­leaders and followers, locals
used wood to seal their place of worship
in Mirring village in Binuang Polman on
Sunday (31/1) at around 10.30.
According to locals the
group is deviant for a
number of reasons. For
instance, new converts
must acknowledge
Syamsuddin, the 28 year
old leader of the group, as
Prophet Khaidir.
According to locals the group is
deviant for a number of reasons. For
instance, new converts must acknow­
ledge Syamsuddin, the 28 year old
­leader of the group, as Prophet Khaidir. They must also first be purified by
­casting out all desires and then ­washing
their ­ bodies clean. They do so completely naked except for a white cloth
covering their head (inilah.com, 31/1).
Their place of worship is located in
the hills of the Mirring forest which locals consider eerie. They claim that they
found a one metre square hole resembling a cave that they believe is used
by the group as a special place to purify
The WAHID Institute
followers.
Those who have ventured into the
mountains have apparently witnessed
a variety of strange happenings. Often
they are possessed or suffer from illness.
“We know these kinds of things often
happen and now Puang Malea Mountain is considered haunted,” explained
Pua Sapar, a local community figure.
Apparently, he says, the name Paung
Malea was taken from the Puang Malea
Mountains, but he rejects the idea of
Puang Malea as a new source of deviant
teachings.
The week before, the chief of Mirring village, Arifin, and religious leader,
Binuang H Nasir, visited the location.
According to Arifin the two were able
to enter the house after undertaking a
number of procedures. The group’s followers appeared in white cloth wrapped
from their waists to knees, and wearing
head covers.
Two days before the place was sealed
(29/1), officials from the police, army
and municipal police went to arrest
Syamsudin, leader of the group which is
also known as the Setinja group.
They were overwhelmed by the
number of followers who were there to
protect Syamsuddin. Armed with small
machetes and daggers in hand, they
jumped to his defence. Negotiations
were lengthy, but eventually the au-
thorities persuaded Syamsuddin to put
down his weapons (liputan6.com, 29/1).
By the end of January, Polman police
had arrested seven people, including
Syamsuddin. After being arrested, they
were interviewed by local police, and a
team from MUI and Polman FKUB.
Syamsuddin claimed that he often
received divine inspiration to impart to
others so that they do not get caught
up in a deviant life. “Maybe I’m like those
who people say are possessed because
I am approached (divine revelation) and
taught about many matters in life so I
don’t go astray,” he said while being interviewed at the Polman police station
(Fajar, 1/2)
However, the 2008 graduate of the
Tarbiyah Faculty of Makassar State University denied that his teachings resorted to any books other than the Qur’an,
or that he faced south while praying.
“We don’t teach anything like that,” he
stressed.
In recent developments, evidence
was found in their house to support
claims of their deviance. They are believed to say a different confession of
faith to the norm, and do not teach followers to pray five times a day. At the
time of publication the investigation
was still underway.
M
11
Analysis
1.
2.
3.
4.
The protest against the statue of the Buddha featuring Abdurrahman Wahid’s face suggests that it is not easy to determine a firm boundary between the right to expression and the need to protect diverse religious “feelings”. As explained
by the sculptor Cipto Purnomo, there was no intention to insult any religion. On the contrary the work was in appreciation
of the role Gus Dur played during his life, a role that Buddha Guatama also played. This requires wisdom by both parties
and dialogue and brains over brawn.
Damage of churches and revocation of building permits for houses of worship is still a big problem in Indonesia. Several
cases indicate that “no permit” is often used as an excuse to legitimize taking action against churches. Of course there are
many other factors contributing to the friction, including lack of education, economic inequalities, ineffective communication, lack of protection by authorities and Christianisation issues. Also of concern is that permits can be revoked by the
government just because of pressure from certain groups, without any clear legal basis.
Many people have misled perceptions of the alcohol regulation. In several areas some groups, such as in West Java, urge
that the alcohol regulation ban the production and distribution of alcohol for religious reasons. However higher regulations, namely the Declaration by the Minister for Trade, does not ban it. What the law regulates is tighter distribution,
including where alcohol may be sold, to whom it may be sold and so on.
Banning the jilbab or any other religious symbol clearly violates individual religious rights. Such a ban could only be accepted if the individual truly threatens public safety or health for instance. Arguing that the jilbab interferes with one’s
work is also a ridiculous suggestion.
Recommendations
1.
2.
3.
4.
We urge society to always promote dialogue and fair communication over persecution when resolving differences of
opinion.
We urge the government to evaluate implementation of the Two Ministers’ Joint Regulation of 2006 concerning the
Guide for Implementing Duties for Regional Heads in Preserving Religious Harmony and Establishing Houses of Worship.
At the same time authorities must be serious in investigating and prosecuting those guilty of destroying houses of worship, no matter their reasons.
We urge society to respect regulations concerning alcohol. At the same time authorities must enforce these regulations,
and take action against distributors and sellers who violate the law.
We urge companies to respect the religious rights of their employees as is guaranteed by Indonesian law.